Appearance- Darker golden colored pour. Bottle overflowed and gushed upon opening. Lots about 4 ounces on the counter. So, yes a very full head on the pour. A touch clouded and not really much lace but a few slight watery streaks.

Scent- Significant cardboard nose. Also lots of what smells like some stale malt. Not really any hops in the nose.

Taste- Fortunately the taste is ok. No cardboard. A pretty nice balance of hops to malt. Caramel roasted malt takes over, but the grapefruit and pine hops follow closely behind.

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4/5 rDev +2.3%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer review from BA Mag Nov 2007.

American Imperial (Double) IPAs have become a common style within the US craft-beer industry, but we're not complaining at all ... we love hops, so bring it on. A chant we heard at this year's GABF was "If it ain't got hops in it, it ain't beer."

Crystal-clear amber color, some bubbles floating to the top. The head retention is no surprise; the effect of all the hops leaves a sticky, spiderweb-like trail down the glass. Smells of freshly cut wedges of ruby red grapefruit, mandarin oranges and blonde tobacco from the hops and hints of peach from the alcohol, shortbread from the grain and faint nuttiness from the yeast. A clean-cut whopping 96 IBUs wipes the palate from virtually all other flavors to start. Then the hop character turns citric with orange and grapefruit flavors with a pungent oily flavor that goes a bit minty and herbal. Some maltiness comes through with a sweet biscuity flavor. Alcohol is a little deceiving with a slow-to-start warming of the throat. Clean all around; house yeast seems to be hidden from all of the hops. Long bitter hoppy end that lands semidry.

Pretty damn good--right to spec for style. Enough balance for what it is and clean all around, not over the top which you don't see that often with American Imperial IPA's.

A 22oz bomber. In a pint glass, the beer was an amber color with a medium head and just a little bit of lacing. It had a predominately floral/piney aroma, but there was a little citrus aroma as well. The floral/pine aroma was lost in the taste, while the citrus came to the fore. Not a huge hit of hops. A little bit of sweetness showed through at the end. Good beer.

22 oz bottle, dated best by 10/07. Pours a reddish golden orange amber with a thinnish creamy white head that quickly diminishes to a thin film that leaves some lacing.

The aroma is strong tangerine hops with sugary caramel malt in the background.

The flavor is sweet sugary caramel malt with tangerine and melon leading to a decent earthy grassy bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium with low carbonation.

Overall, a pretty nice DIPA. Not my favorite hop flavors. The bitterness and sweetness are both strong (especially sweetness - it becomes a little cloying) and don't balance well. But this is definitely the best Steamworks' brew I've had. I didn't realize my bottle was slightly old - I'd like to try a fresher sample.

Opened 22 fluid ounce bomber bottle, poured into snifter glass. Date on Bottle is Best before May 2008, but its still early may... And it is an IIPA.

Pours a bubbly head of 1/4" that dissipates to a layer of lace. Color is a mostly clear copper color.

Smell is somewhat subdued, but nice aromas of sweet malts and some hops. Taste is much more intense with hoppy pineness and nice citrus profile. Bubbles are active, and slight heat on back of throat. Good finish though. Not a bad beer - Nice brew.

Thanks to Crosling for sending me two bottles of this brew. I am always looking to try new, "local" IPA/DIPAs and I was in for a treat. Bottle dates 12/06. Amber in color with a little head. Strong smell of hops which is more sweet than piney. Very nice blend of hops including Simcoe which is one of my favs. Mouthfeel is smooth & this is very drinkable. ABV is not listed. I am a hop head and this is a good DIPA.

Pours vibrant orange. I think this beer is even more orange colored than that Grant's Mandarin Hefeweizen. Smell comes across a little muted compared to the appearance and taste.

Taste is just massive new hops. . . you know, there's the divide between the old school Columbus, Cascade and Chinook hops in American West Coast style IPAs, and then there's the new breed, Warrior, Simcoe, Amarillo etc. . . this is a new breed IPA. Instead of grapefruit citrus zest, its tangerine (much like the Grant's like Yakima Brewing Co.).

Mouthfeel, it dissipates a little midway through, but is highly drinkable. If you've never had it, check it out, highly recommended.

From a 22oz brown bottle with a best by date of feb 2008. Oops a little late with this one but it taste good so here comes the review anyway.

Pours a slightly clouded rusty amber with a full off white head. Nice lacing, this one sticks to everything it touches even your ribs! The head dissipates to a nice collar of foam that refreshes the webing after each sip.

Smell is sweet, malty and full of hops, slightly spicy with a touch of pine.

Taste is sweet and warm. There is a floral and citrus battle royal where the floral seems to be edging out the citrus. A thick mouthfeel coats your pallet with a saccharine maltiness that is quite pleasing against a bold bitterness. The brew leaves a nice malt aftertaste with some light biting on the side of the tongue.

Whoa, this is an easy to drink brew. Its smooth and on the sweet side but it also has a nice hoppy bitterness, a fine maltiness and a thin carbonation that doesn't take away from the flavor.

Grabbed a bottle of this while visiting lovely Austin, Texas, last week. Best before date (I wish more brewers did this) of Dec 08, so best I get at it.

It pours a hazy orange-amber, with a few fingers of foamy white head, that melts away after a few minutes, leaving thin lacing around the glass. The lovely aroma of citrus hops and caramel malts blend together to indicate that this is indeed an IIPA. The taste starts with a decent wallop of grassy, citrusy hops, which are joined quickly by a sturdy sweet malt backbone, evening out the flavour a fair bit. But the hops are the star of the show here, as they should be. They aren't overpowering, just nicely apparent, for the style. The carbonation is very muted, not interfering in the flavour balance, and the finish is short and (not) sweet, with the dry hop essence lingering for a moment or two. The elevated alcohol is hardly noticeable, but I assume it would be eventually, as this beer is very drinkable; I guess I'll find out as I finish this bomber.

This one pours out with serious steam! Deep amber with lot's of tiny, fast bubbles with a massive 2" high crown that is very clumpy and fluffy, reminds me of sea-foam with a vanilla color. Very slow dissipation. The lacing is impressivly clumpy and sticky. Looks great.

wow, the first sip is amazing, with it's medium, nearly full feeling, bold, thick and very sweet malt! The malt depth and compleity taste's great but it really over-shadow's the true nature of the the style....but I like it anyway. The malt has butterscotch and toffee flavors running wild. After the sweet malt assult the All-American hop combo of Warrior, Tomahawk and simcoe gives an even more complex hop flavors, mostly tropical fruits and red berries but also some citrus effects with: Sweet oranges, watermellon, pineapple, banana's. There is a bitter-earthy and herbal hop bite right at the end as well. Good balance of Malt and hops with big-time complexity. BUT! then, right at the end comes this bitter, sharp heat that feels more like vodka than beer. This throws off the balance at the end and also has a strange chillie-peppers like after taste.

The complexity of malt and hops is fantastic, but the sharp alcohol bite really turned me off at the end.

Pours a bright orange color, topped by a half-inch of creamy, off-white head. Aroma of lightly sweet, bready malt with a touch of honey, along with a big whiff of grapefruity hops. Palate is aggressively bitter up front, with a great floral character. Mellow, bready malt balances things out towards the finish. Not much in the way of a lingering finish, but there is some definite residual warmth. Body is full and robust, avoiding any stickiness. Not a particularly impressive or overwhelming beer, but a decent offering nonetheless.

Pours a crystal clear coppery amber, with 1 1/2 fingers of tight, yet creamy eggshell-white head. Retains with a solid layer of sloshy froth that leaves a MASSIVE coating of lace down the sides of the glass. The aroma is initially very sweet, with a load of juicy tropical fruits, bread, and toffee, really dominating this. As it warms up a bit more though, I was pleased to sense more and more hop character coming out. Floral hops, spice, and a just a touch of light pine. A tinge of warmth gives this a bit of beef in the nostrils.

The bitterness is definitely more resinous feeling in the taste, combining with some strong hop spicing to really impart a nice sharp bite to this. This is well balanced by that same aggressively sweet mix of citrus and malt that was prominent in the aroma. The finish is spicy and EXTREMELY dry on the palate. The mouthfeel is meidum bodied, with a very smooth and mellow feel to the carbonation. There is definitely some alcohol at work here in the body but this is actually drinking really nicely for the size (over 9% according to the bottle).

Nice. This took a little coaxing to get some of the more aggressive nature of the hops to come out and play, but this ended up being a well balanced and easy drinking DIPA. I'm going to keep an eye out for this on draft, as I felt that the flavors could have popped even more.

Clear light copper color with a soap-foam cover that lines the glass well.

Lots of hops in the nose with sweet smells of pine sap, citrus and flowers (lavender).

First impression is sweet malt with the hops coming in immediately after that first hint of sweet. I get citrus but also tropical melon flavors. Nice sweet caramel breadiness comes out again to balance the finish.

Good amount of carbonation but still feels pretty soft and almost creamy; gets a bit thicker as it warms.

Overall a pretty nice and easy drinking DIPA that is pretty balanced but still slightly leaning to the hops. Just a bit too sweet as it warms up, but pretty nice stuff- one of the brews I would prefer to drink colder than warmer.

Pours out the color of an orange Saf-T-Pop. There is no carbonation in the body but the head is creamy and a decent size. No lacing. Aroma is really big on an orange kind of hop quality. There's some underlying pine and herbs in the hop aroma profile. Malt is really vague and doesn't offer much in the area of smell. Flavor up front is some malty sweetness (kind of like simple syrup) with big citrus elements. Again, as in the nose, the hops bring more oranges than anything. Pine is not as apparent here but a subtle underlying floral characteristic comes out. Finishes relatively dry for what it is. Not a lot of bitterness in this one, but a good deal of hop flavor. Mouthfeel is moderate in body. Really smooth carbonation. Wow. This is really poundable. The (relative) dryness in the finish and the bright orange character make this really refreshing compared to some sugar bombs like Maharaja and 90 Minute.

T: Mmmm hops. The bitterness is delicious, citrusy with a firm sweetness. Grapefruit and pine needles jostle for attention, leaving an oily finish that is very prickly. Caramel malts are subtle, low-key behind the hops.

M: The hops are strong but not dominating. Compared to the Moylan's Hopsickle that I also had, this is much MUCH better with a far more balanced body.

D: Two pints really hit the spot. A welcome addition to the PA lineup.